US-Cuba Sister Cities Association Upcoming Events in May and June of 2000

Please contact USCSCA@AOL.COM for applications:

The US-Cuba Sister Cities Association is sponsoring two upcoming events in May and June of 2000, of which we hope you will be a part to help strengthen and expand your work and interest in Cuba into long term, sustainable people-to-people partnerships, community exchanges and eventually a full fledged "Sister City" relationship with a community in Cuba. Also to help existing sister cities expand and improve projects in Cuba, and gain support in their home communities.

  1. 1. Conference in Habana, Cuba, May 19-28: USCSCA representatives will meet with our Cuban counterparts for the purpose of discussing and determining the bilateral procedures and protocols necessary to fulfill our mission. The conference will be May 21-23rd. The rest of the week will be spent in the countryside facilitating different aspects of our work. The conference is only open to USCSCA membership. If you are not yet a member, there is still time to join. Existing sister cities will bring delegations, and members-at-large and sister cities in formation will be assigned regional or specialty groups to work with. This is the first of what we hope will become regular meetings with Cuban counterparts. Please contact USCSCA immediately for information, membership and conference eligibility.

  2. Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, June 9-11th: Will be a nationwide meeting where we will continue getting our "own house in order." This meeting will offer "nuts and bolts" help for everyone, regardless of where they are in the sister city organizing scale. We will report back the procedures agreed upon with the Cubans that will move our work forward. We will have an up-to-the-minute report on US Cuba relations from the Cuban Interests Section and how that impacts on our work, stateside. We will have useful workshops about a lot of things that make it hard to advance ourselves. We may have folks from Cuba if they can get visas, etc.

We recommend everyone who can attend this conference, it will be invaluable to your efforts. This conference will be held in a building on the lake designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It will be an incredibly uplifting weekend, phenomenal networking possibilities, and essential information to succeed in your work. Information will be forthcoming directly to help make your plans and reservations. Please contact Ricardo Gonzalez in Madison for reservations: Ricardo@cardinalbar.com

Thanks, for more information or your regional coordinator please contact: Lisa Valanti - 412- 563-1519 or USCSCA@AOL.COM

Update on the Oct. 9-11th, US-CUBA Sister City Association conference

August 10, 1999

Dear Friends,

OK, let's get this show on the road in terms of projecting the Oct. 9-11th, US-CUBA Sister City Association conference so we can get serious about recruitment. We need more than the folks who came to Pittsburgh attending, although I hope everyone who was in Pittsburgh will be in Mobile. We need to recruit people from cities near us, or where we know interested people. We should try and have (at least) 100 people nationwide. The political climate is fast changing, and we need to get these projects (bridges) in place if we want to be able to seize this moment in history to make a contribution to what kind of transition this is-we need to be very proactive as partners with Cuba in building respectful relationships. We need to target some cities like Seattle, Chicago, Boston, DC, Atlanta and Baltimore, North Carolina, Florida, and make sure somebody from those states, heck, all 50, attends. I'd forgo Alaska & Hawaii for the time being. But if you have friends there, recruit! We already have a confirmation from London.

Since this conference will occur over a holiday weekend (Columbus Day) it may limit participation from new people who won't want to give up a holiday to an unknown group. So, we are going to have to work hard, and all be great sales people, and get the unorganized committed to coming. This conference will be the place for folks wondering what this movement is all about, and where they, their organization, etc., may fit in. Sister "Cities" overwhelms some folks, who would organize their group but don't feel up to taking on their whole cities.

Thus, I think we should project this conference as a working "seed/tool kit" on how to start/develop a sister city. The first conference established USCSCA, now this conference needs to get it up and running and demonstrate how important it is AS A COLLECTIVE/COLLOBORATIVE effort, between ourselves, nationally, and with Cuba. I propose several workshops in areas of particular interest to people looking for ways to begin a starting project or expand their base, like:

1. Working with elected officials- Jim Ferlo to lead the workshop

2. Education- School penpal projects, student exchanges, academic exchanges,and SECA A. Sister Universities- workshop by Prof. Mark Ginsburg (others etc.) who created the contract and exchange program with Univ. of Pittsburgh/Matanzas B. SECA- Working with High School Students -David Mericle from Madison

3. Women's Organizations-WILPF-

4. Religion/Churches- Dr. Ted Braun (National Council of Churches) Rev. Lucius Walker (Pastor 4 Peace)

5. Communities of Color-TransAfrica among others

6. Culture-music, art and dance-

7. Business/Commerce- Kirby Jones/Chamber of commerce?

8. International- representatives from the 31 other nations which have sister cities with Cuba.

9. Cuban presentations- Felix Wilson, Julio Espinoza?

10. The Sister City Experience- all the established sister cities share their projects and their accomplishments.

Then we have business- getting a webpage, the nuts and bolts of organizing etc. Planning our next meeting which I think might be in Madison in May, with an international SC meeting in Habana in November 2000 as part of the World Solidarity Conference. What is missing? What workshops or experiences would people in your projects like to share?

All ideas and input welcome, Please respond as soon as possible.


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